I don't disguise my love for classic Konami games. The brand is responsible for most of the titles I grew up loving, yet I didn't really experience most of them in the arcades. Games like Life Force, Contra, and Jackal were ones I was more acclimated to their NES counterparts. In the shooter genre, Konami is more noted for the Contra and the Gradius series, but one really obscure title that I wasn't aware of was Lightning Fighters.

Called Trigon (not to be confused with Raven's dad from the Teen Titans) in Japan and released in 1990, I had long thought that this was an entry from another vertical scrolling shooter series titled Raiden Fighters. They bare striking similarities. I feel like I played Lightning Fighters a really long time ago at Discovery Zone (And yeah, even when taken to a place that encourages interactive activity and motion, I was the weirdo at age 9 spending my tokens in front of an arcade machine), along with Zaxxon, but I never could remember what is was called.

And when I went back to that DZ, there were completely different games. Even when I got into retro collecting, this one was buried so deep in Konami's rich library, it took a fellow collector to bring it to my attention to clarify its name. Even in the age of the internet, it can still be a little tricky to research matters.

Lightning Fighters has a lot of what I like to call "Konami-isms", traits in games that I identify exclusively with the company. Things like graphical similarities shared amongst franchises, sound effects and audio ques. Explosions in Konami games are what I like to call "KonamiSplosions", which occurs when a medium to larger sized enemy ship or boss blows up in grand fashion, it can be heard in this game.

There's also some recurring enemies from the Gradius series seemingly repurposed here in Lightning Fighters. Those enemy ships from Gradius III that fly in choreographed patterns which you can destroy to gather power-ups appear to be a shield for a boss ship, encircling and preventing you from damaging the head. 

Speaking of those similarities, using deflecting barriers to disrupt your shot is a trait also seen in the Gradius spinoff Life Force. The second stage boss, Fortress Valis Cruiser Tetran surrounds its core with wide sweeping impenetrable orbs. The same with the fifth stage boss Tutankhamon, whose protective orbs move in the same orbital pattern as this boss...I think I need to lie down.

Lightning Fighters can be a grind, it's a traditionally challenging shoot'em up. Evading enemy fire is more reflex based than memory. A trick someone showed me in certain SHMUPs, you can prolong your survival by keeping track on the bullets and firepower that's coming toward you as opposed to what you're firing. The logic is, as long as you're shooting, you're guaranteed to hit...SOMETHING. And in many ways, that strategy makes sense. Focusing on evasion can save a little double duty the brain has to pull to keep you from making a panicky move to overcompensate, which causes me to run into enemy fire. 

It's got 9 total stages, ramping up in difficulty, so this one plays like a quintessential token muncher that will completely devour your allowance. What I like the most about these kinds of SHMUPs is trying to see how far I can get on my original quarter. The power-ups to your main gun are determined by your ability to stay alive. Unlike other SHMUPs, you get no charity here in Lightning Fighters. Some series, you gun downgrades after you die, leaving you slightly less formidable. Oh, not here, Sunshine. You die once, you're right back to the original vulcan. Super Bombs (Particle Beam and the Dragon Laser) can be acquired and can help you out in a pinch, obliterating everything on the screen, including smaller enemy bullets (no dice on the lasers or electrical beams). But like your main gun, you lose everything you gain and are back at scratch. Isn't that just a fine kettle of fish? 

Lightning Fighters may be one I experienced incredibly recently, it is a vertical shooter that was apparently lost in time, only recently redistributed on the Nintendo Switch eShop and the PS4 under the Classics line of digital games (only $7.99). For that price, this one is worth giving a try, and shining a bit of light on it for SHMUPtember feels more than adequate.